Attorneys for five plaintiffs (the largest is the Woodhull
Foundation in Alexandria, VA) will reissue their suit of the federal government
to stop enforcement of FOSTA today, in the DC Circuit Court, trying to overture
a dismissal in September 2018 in a lower court on procedural grounds, where a
judge ruled the defendants did not face a credible threat of prosecution and
had no standing to sue.
Plaintiffs are arguing that the law has caused
companies to self-censor (hence the lack of threat of prosecution –
circularity) and eliminate some services to customers out of fear of
unpredictable liability.
Electronic Frontier Foundation has a press release Sept.
18 (link above).
FOSTA is a very disruptive law that is disrupting the
climate that has allowed free speech by users over the years, and is leading to
discussions of reducing downstream liability protections (Section 230) in other
areas, such as related to radicalization. While that concern has been thought to be
related to algorithmic business models based in clickbait, it’s also possible
that “free content” contributes to the problem and could become another
controversy.
Also, the Washington Post abruptly closed down
publishing its print Express for Metro commuters after Sept. 12, resulting in
layoffs, as explained in many stories.
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